Luanda - The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) praised on Friday, the decisive role Angola has been playing for conflicts in Africa to be sorted out.
The recognition was made by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, while speaking at the closing of the 74th session of the UNHCR Executive Committee held on October 9-13 in Geneva (Switzerland),a note that reached ANGOP has said.
In May 2022, the Angolan president João Lourenço was designated "Champion for Reconciliation and Peace in Africa", due to his commitment to peacemaking on the continent, especially within the framework of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region and other areas.
Filippo Grandi praised Angola’s efforts, which on Tuesday announced, during the general debate session, a financial contribution to be made in the coming days for 2023 and 2024 in favour of various programmes carried out by the UNHCR.
Margarida Izata, Permanent Representative of Angola to the United Nations Offices in Geneva, on her turn, defended the need for UNHCR member states to show more political will and greater economic investment to put an end to the causes of forced displacement and the need to establish robust human rights protection frameworks in affected countries.
The Angolan diplomat pointed out that the mixed movements of migrants and asylum seekers have forced states to implement new status determination systems to provide a more appropriate response to each situation.
However, the Angolan diplomat said, the management of this phenomenon requires, among other things, a global approach and the implementation of efficient migration and asylum management systems.
Margarida Izata reiterated Angola’s commitment to international protection, adding that the country continues to improve its institutional and regulatory framework for international protection of more than 52,000 refugees and asylum seekers in Angola.
“Angola has resumed the general biometric registration process for the attribution of new identification documents for refugees and asylum seekers, which will speed up the processing, as well as creating better social conditions, with a view to including refugees in national public policies" , the diplomat said.
Margarida Izata said Angola is committed to implementing effective measures aimed at reducing the risk of statelessness as part of the "I belong" campaign.
As regard to expanding the database for registering Angolan citizens abroad, at least 35 civil registration posts have been set up in 18 countries from 2020 to 2022, with the aim of breaking the chain of unregistered adults and unregistered children," Izata said.
The Angolan delegation welcomed the priority given by the UNHCR to the protection of internally displaced people in all its programmes and the efforts it has made in collaboration with partners at regional level to strengthen asylum systems and promote the inclusion of displaced people in national development programmes.
In April 2023, Angola became number 108 out of 127 member countries of the UNHCR Executive Committee and has worked in partnership with the UN agency to implement policies and programmes for the reception and integration of refugees in Angola. SC
In May 2022, the President of the Republic, João Lourenço, was designated "Champion for Reconciliation and Peace in Africa", due to his commitment to peacemaking on the continent, especially within the framework of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) and other areas.SC/AMP
